Caleb Williams, 'All on the Line': It's Elite 11 Time

From working out Washington, D.C., to competing in Nashville, to announcing his college choice on Saturday, it may be the biggest week of Caleb Williams' life so far

John E. Hoover | Jun 29, 2020

It’s go-time for Caleb Williams.

So he wants to say thank you.

Williams begins the week today competing at the Elite 11 Finals in Nashville, and he’ll end it by announcing his college decision.

In his latest blog, “All On The Line,” written exclusively for Sports Illustrated, Williams describes his Sunday trip from Washington, D.C., to Nashville and his desire “to go dominate” at the nation’s premier high school quarterback competition.

‘My mom and dad made sure we took precautions to stay as safe as we could throughout our trip and when we got here,” Williams writes. “Masks, glasses, gloves, washing our hands as I always say. Just making sure we're staying germ free as much as possible in this tough time.”

Williams and 18 other prep QBs (one is quarantined) will compete Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday at Blackman High School in the Nashville suburb of Murfreesboro.

“Being able to get this opportunity, to come to the Elite 11, is awesome,” Williams writes. “I’ve wanted to do it since I was a little bit younger, when I started playing quarterback. I’ve always wanted to come to this camp. Last year I scored really high in the regionals, but couldn’t come because I wasn’t a rising senior and this is a senior quarterback camp — so I was hoping we had this camp and it wouldn’t get cancelled because of COVID-19. I just feel like last year I could have been there and done really well.”

Williams said he staged three throwing sessions last week working on the Elite 11 script.

“I’ve been going through the script for the Elite 11, working on a bunch of throws, working on live routes and things like that with the wide receivers, just to make sure I'm ready for this moment,” he wrote. “I’m going out there to make sure everybody knows — and they can get their own idea — of me. Where I am, what they think of me.

“But I’m going there to compete and learn from the coaches.”

Williams also offered an extensive list of gratitude, sending thank you’s to virtually everyone from his family and coaches to his speed coach to his “recovery team” to his “hot yoga instructor.”

READ THE FULL BLOG HERE

Published Jun 29, 2020

JOHN E. HOOVER

John is an award-winning journalist whose work spans five decades in Oklahoma, with multiple state, regional and national awards as a sportswriter at various newspapers. During his newspaper career, John covered the Dallas Cowboys, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the Arkansas Razorbacks and much more. In 2016, John changed careers, migrating into radio and launching a YouTube channel, and has built a successful independent media company, DanCam Media. From there, John has written under the banners of Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Fan Nation and a handful of local and national magazines while hosting daily sports talk radio shows in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and statewide. John has also spoken on Capitol Hill in Oklahoma City in a successful effort to put more certified athletic trainers in Oklahoma public high schools. Among the dozens of awards he has won, John most cherishes his national "Beat Writer of the Year" from the Associated Press Sports Editors, Oklahoma's "Best Sports Column" from the Society of Professional Journalists, and Two "Excellence in Sports Medicine Reporting" Awards from the National Athletic Trainers Association. John holds a bachelor's degree in Mass Communications from East Central University in Ada, OK. Born and raised in North Pole, Alaska, John played football and wrote for the school paper at Ada High School in Ada, OK. He enjoys books, movies and travel, and lives in Broken Arrow, OK, with his wife and two kids.